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Heroes don't get sick easily.
Well, that's not Metal Bat's reality. Maybe he was the exception to the rule. In fact, at the moment, Badd was the biggest exception.
Garou would classify him as mild or could be worse, but those words might sound too offensive to his boyfriend, who had been in a pretty foul mood.
In part, the blame was entirely his. Not for the cold, of course, but for the little one Metal Bat had been carrying for exactly eight months.
“Damn it, Garou…” He curses him for the twentieth time that day, or the twenty-second? Garou should stop counting.
Like a good boyfriend, Garou hands Badd the handkerchief so he can blow his nose.
“Thanks, but I still want to smash your head with my bat. Atchoo!” Badd grunts, even angrier. “Oh, damn. It's your fault, it's entirely your fault, you bastard.”
Garou shakes his head with a faint smile, listening to Metal Bat’s long monologue about what it felt like to sneeze and feel an earthquake all over his body.
It must suck — he sympathized with his boyfriend on that point — but hearing insults directed at him all day wasn’t exactly fun.
If only Metal Bat would let him hug him and comfort him with his calming pheromones, but no. The idiot was ridiculously proud.
It wouldn’t hurt to try again. Garou moves closer to the hero on the couch.
“What? No, no! Get away, I’m already screwed enough.”
“Let me take care of you.”
“No!”
Another sneeze; Badd immediately clutches his belly. Garou rolls his eyes.
“Badd…”
“I said no!” Another sneeze, and Garou feels his skin prickle when he sees a stain forming between the hero’s pants.
Shit.
He expects Badd to yank him by the hair; he’s ready to block the hero’s attacks. After all, there’s nothing more embarrassing than that.
Garou opens an eye, not knowing he had closed it.
Guilt hits him like a truck.
“Unbelievable.” Badd whimpers and, accepting defeat, he raises a hand for Garou to help him up. Badd looks at the couch, checking if it’s stained too; seeing that it isn’t, he breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
Then Garou gets an elbow to the stomach. He didn’t even manage to defend himself.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“It’s your fault!” Badd points his index finger at Garou. “I don’t even know what I was thinking when I agreed to…”
“You didn’t agree.”
“Yeah. That explains a lot. Our little surprise.” Badd caresses his belly, a small smile appearing on his face.
“Now let me help you.” Garou grabs the hero’s hand to guide him to the bedroom.
“No! I’ve humiliated myself enough by peeing in front of you. Leave me alone, go away.”
The smile disappears, replaced by Metal Bat’s furrowed brows. Cute, yes, but also kind of annoying.
“Humiliated? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
Garou rolls his eyes.
Metal Bat is his omega and carries their pup. What the hell did he mean by ashamed? It’s Garou’s job to help him.
Garou follows him to the bedroom, but the door is closed before he can enter.
“Look, if you really want to help, bring me some soup. I’m hungry” It’s the only thing Garou can hear through the door.
Turning on his heels, the alpha heads to the kitchen.
The shower stops and Badd comes out of the bedroom in a new outfit moments later. He walks — actually, stumbles — into the living room, then stops, hands stretched and open as if waiting for something.
Badd sneezes and stands still, holding the ladle in one hand and the pot lid in the other; Garou watches his boyfriend closely.
“Phew. No pee.” Badd returns to the couch and sits down. “Also, I’ll want you to massage my feet when you’re done.” the hero dictated, placing both feet on the coffee table and pointing with a mischievous smile.
“Uh-huh.” Garou looked at the cold mess in the big pot on the stove.
That couldn’t be called soup. Garou had insisted they order food, but Badd refused with all his might and Garou didn’t want to see him in the kitchen; it was a big argument until Garou decided to make the soup himself.
To hell with the idea of cooking. What if Badd got hurt? Garou had a vivid imagination about what could happen to the hero if he decided to cook: pots losing handles, frying pans full of oil, boiling water.
Only over his dead body would the hero cook.
So everything fell to Garou, resulting in the greatest culinary catastrophe. Roughly chopped vegetables, sticky noodles, burnt meat and the soup was unsalted.
What a horror.
Garou alternated his gaze between the soup and the hero, who turned to him.
“What’s up?” he asked, rubbing his belly beneath his shirt.
“Hero. Are you sure…?”
“What do you mean: are you sure? Bring it here, Garou.” Badd grumbled. Without further ado, Garou shrugged, grabbed the ladle and poured into the bowl.
Badd gladly took the bowl, using his belly for support; he licked his lips and took a full spoonful.
Garou made a face. It’s true that in his time as a hero hunter, he ate awful things, but he had no choice.
Right now, Badd had a choice and he preferred the wrong one.
He reaches for the hero’s stomach and strokes it, his hand resting on the belly beneath the shirt.
“Hmm?”
“The little monster has quite an appetite.” The hero squealed. His soup-filled cheeks flushed red.
Badd swallows the food, wipes the spoon and taps Garou on the head with it.
“Don’t call him that!” Garou hummed, leaning in to kiss the hero’s cheek.
Badd tries to hit him again; Garou catches him in time. Then Zenko comes out of her room in her newest Halloween costume.
The hero opens his mouth in pure surprise; a sneeze interrupts his speech, Garou grabs the nearest handkerchief and hands it to Badd.
“Badd! Are you okay?” She approaches her brother.
Zenko’s costume is excellent: a forest fairy, the wings were hard to find. Garou remembers the arduous trip with the siblings in search of fairy wings that would sparkle.
He still preferred the dinosaur one. It looked adorable on the little kid, though Badd had a different opinion, since tears streamed down his cheeks dirty with soup; it was a mess, Garou was in front of a huge waterfall.
In the future, the hero will say it’s the hormones’ fault and therefore Garou’s, but the ex-monster knows it has nothing to do with that, Badd has always been prone to crying at anything Zenko did.
He’s not to blame, the little girl really is amazing.
“I-I’m okay, Zenko. Just a little cold.” He breathes deeply. “My God, you look beautiful!”
Badd hugs his sister who tries to find space between the belly and the bowl of soup. Zenko needs to pat his back a few times to get him to let her go.
“Nice costume, brat.” Garou ruffles his hair and Zenko smiles.
“And your costume, brother?”
Badd sighs, placing the soup bowl on the table. More tears appear; Garou knows how important Zenko’s school Halloween party was to him and being sick that day disappointed him.
“Zenko, I can’t go, not like this.” He sniffs. “I really wanted to! You know that.”
“It’s okay, brother. Mr. Garou will take care of you while I’m gone, won’t you?”
Garou nods.
“N-no! You have to go, Garou. If not, who will take pictures? Who will film? Who will cheer and scream when Zenko wins?” Badd puts his feet on the floor and gets up, heading for the bedroom. “Oh, damn! I still need to stop by the shop to buy your present.”
“Where do you think you’re going, hero? Of course I can’t go and neither can you.”
He can’t afford it, not when his boyfriend is Metal Bat, a lunatic who thinks he can fight a dragon-level monster when he can’t even see his own feet.
“It’s dangerous to leave you here.”
“Then let’s all go together!” They only hear the hero’s voice followed by a sneeze. “Damn.”
Zenko gives Garou a pleading look and tells him to fix it.
“We don’t even have costumes. How could we go?”
“I’ll find something! There must be something in the closet.” Badd returns from the bedroom with some clothes in his hands and tosses them on the couch; he pauses for a moment, hands on his hips while he breathes deeply.
Garou growls and crosses his arms.
“Okay, smarty. What do you suggest?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll find a costume! We’re going to that little party even if I have to dress you up… as your favorite soda! Fine! Something has to fit.”
Garou raises an eyebrow. Unexpected.
“You big-headed fool, you’re not dressing me as a Coke.” Garou lifts an eyebrow, looking the hero up and down, then he smiles. “Although that costume would actually look good on you.”
“What did you say?” asks Badd; it’s not just a question, Garou senses a hint of irritation and he’s not sure whether he should press it.
He should explain himself.
“Your hero clothes remind me of a Coke bottle. You know, the two-liter one” Garou shrugs. “But now that you’re carrying the little one, it would—”
“Would what?!! Finish it, finish it if you dare, Garou.”
Garou half-closes his eyes; Badd keeps staring at him, so he gives up finishing his sentence. The idea of comparing his pregnant boyfriend to a four-liter soda isn’t his brightest.
“N-never mind.”
“Good.”
He looks at Zenko; the little girl has puffed cheeks and keeps stamping her foot hard on the floor repeatedly.
“Badd, you’re not going, period!”
Badd frowns, approaches Zenko and takes her hands.
“B-but Zenko!” he whines. “I can’t miss your performance! Who will be there cheering for you when you win first place? Why I know that—…”
Badd continues, teary-eyed, he’s a mess. But it’s Garou’s mess, entirely. And he won’t let his sick, pregnant boyfriend go through another disappointment.
The soup was enough.
Although the idea of going to Zenko’s school and bragging when she gets first place is tempting, Garou can’t abandon Badd and the little one.
Near the coffee table, Garou spots Metal Bat’s phone.
Damn, it was so simple. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
“Kiddo, is your phone charged?” The siblings turn to Garou.
“Of course, my phone is always charged in case of emergencies!”
“Good girl.” Garou nods. “Then that’s it. We’ll make a video call.”
“Video call?” Badd spits the words. “Garou! That’s… a good idea, I think.”
Zenko gives a victorious smile. Badd sneezes again, placing both hands on his belly.
“We have no choice, do we?” says Badd, pulling Zenko into a hug. “Oh, how I wish I were there with you, Zenko.”
“You will be, but through the little screen!”
He hugs her tighter.
“Good luck, little sister! That prize is already yours.”
“You bet!” Zenko pulls Garou and Badd into an even bigger hug. “Rest a lot, Badd! Mr. Garou, take care of him and don’t let him go out!”
Given up, Badd flops onto the couch, Garou sits beside him and pulls his feet closer, beginning to massage them; Badd falls silent, his expression covered in melancholy and Garou hates it.
“Badd.”Garou calls him, touching his knees. “She’ll call us soon, you’ll see.”
At that instant, the phone vibrates: it’s Zenko. Badd jumps off the couch, Garou dodges the hero’s foot. He unlocks the screen and sits back down; Garou wonders where so much energy came from and if his little one is okay after the many kicks.
“Zenko! Zenko! Are you there? Has it started, is everything okay?!” He bombards the girl with questions and she only laughs. On camera you can see her and two of her friends.
“Everything’s fine, Badd! It’s about to start!”
“All right, all right! Good luck, dear.”
Zenko hands the phone to her teacher, who films the whole performance. Badd sits beside Garou on the couch, letting him watch the show. Garou wraps his arms around Badd and rests his chin on top of Badd’s head, allowing him to release his calming pheromones to comfort Badd and the little one, who had been moving vigorously at the start.
With both hands on Badd’s belly and the hero holding the phone, they watch Zenko’s victory; Badd and Garou leap to their feet immediately, shouting as if in a football stadium.
Zenko’s medal is a plastic crown and a tiny trophy. She talks with her brother and Garou before going to enjoy the rest of the party. The call ends.
Garou puts the phone on the table and hugs Badd from behind, still sitting on the couch. “She did it, I can’t believe it!” In his moment of euphoria, Badd hugs him.
“I told you she would win. It was obvious.” Garou turns to kiss Badd in celebration. The hero makes a face.
“I just remembered: I’m still mad at you.”
“Don’t be, Zenko is priority now. Let’s celebrate.” Garou leans in, capturing the hero’s lips. He can hardly wait for the brat to come back so they can celebrate with a good pizza.
Then Garou suddenly pulls away, sneezing.
The omega laughs.
“Yeah, I guess Zenko is the priority now.” The alpha furrows his brow, pulling the hero closer in a tight hug with a germ-filled kiss. “Ugh, Garou! Stop that, gross! Where’s my bat? I’ll hit you, I swear!”
Now that he’s contaminated too, there’s no escape.